Khaljī dynasty

Khaljī dynasty, also spelled Khiljī, (1290–1320), the second ruling family of the Muslim sultanate of Delhi. The dynasty, like the previous Slave dynasty, was of Turkish origin, though the Khaljī tribe had long been settled in Afghanistan. Its three kings were noted for their faithlessness, their ferocity, and their penetration of the Hindu south.

The first Khaljī sultan, Jalāl al-Dīn Fīrūz Khaljī, was established by a noble faction on the collapse of the last feeble Slave king, Kay-Qubādh. Jalāl al-Dīn was already elderly, and for a time he was so unpopular—because his tribe was thought to be Afghan—that he dared not enter the capital. His nephew Jūnā Khan led an expedition into the Hindu Deccan region (peninsular India), captured Ellichpur and its treasure, and returned to murder his uncle in 1296.

With the title of ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Khaljī, Jūnā Khan reigned for 20 years. He captured Ranthambhor (1301) and Chitor (Chittaurgarh; 1303), conquered Mandu (1305), and annexed the wealthy Hindu kingdom of Devagiri. He also repelled Mongol raids. ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn’s lieutenant, Malik Kāfūr, was sent on a plundering expedition to the south in 1308, which led to the capture of Warangal, the overthrow of the Hoysala dynasty south of the Krishna River, and the occupation of Madura in the extreme south. Malik Kāfūr returned to Delhi in 1311 laden with spoils. Thereafter the fortunes of ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn and the dynasty declined. The sultan died in early 1316, and Malik Kāfūr’s attempted usurpation ended with his own death.

The last Khaljī, Quṭb al-Dīn Mubārak Shah, was murdered in 1320 by his chief minister, Khusraw Khan, who was in turn replaced by Ghiyāṣ al-Dīn Tughluq, the first ruler of the Tughluq dynasty.

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